PSYCHO-SOCIAL FACTORS AS CORRELATES OF INDISCIPLINE AMONG SECONDARYSCHOOLSTUDENTSINAKOKOSOUTH-WESTOFONDOSTATE

This study addressed the persistent challenge of indiscipline among secondaryschool students in Nigeria, which negatively impacts the educational system. Specifically, it aimed to examine the factorscontributingtoindisciplineamongseniorsecondaryschoolstudentsinAkokoSouth-West Local Government Area, Ondo State, focusing on the roles of peer influence, students' attitudes towardseducation,academicstress,andemotionalinstability.Thestudyinvestigatedoneresearch question regarding the prevalence of indiscipline and tested five null hypotheses exploring the relationships between indiscipline and the aforementioned factors. Adescriptivesurveyresearchdesignwasemployedforthisstudy.Thepopulationconsistedofall senior secondary school students (SS1-SS3) within the specified local government area. Using simplerandomsampling,asampleof240studentswasselected,with60studentsdrawnfromeach of four schools. Data collection utilized a validated, self-structured questionnaire divided into demographicinformationand30itemsmeasuringthecorevariablesona4-pointLikertscale.The instrument's reliability was confirmed via the test-retest method, yielding a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.63. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (frequency counts, percentages) andinferentialstatistics(CorrelationMatrix,PearsonProductMomentCorrelation)testedatthe 0.05significancelevel. Thefindingsrevealedapredominantlyhighprevalenceofindiscipline,with95.4%ofthesurveyed studentsfallingintothehighcategory.Allfivenullhypotheseswererejected.Significantpositive relationships were found between indiscipline and peer influence (r = .505, p = .001), students' attitudestowardseducation(r=.495,p=.000),academicstress(r=.446,p=.000),andemotional instability (r = .812, p = .000). Emotional instability demonstrated the strongest correlation with indiscipline. Furthermore, significant interrelationships were observed among all predictor variables, highlighting the complex interplay of factors influencing student behaviour. In conclusion, indiscipline is highlyprevalent amongsecondaryschool students in Akoko South- WestLGA,OndoState,andissignificantlyinfluencedbyemotionalinstability,studentattitudes, academic stress, and peer influence. The multifaceted nature of these contributing factors underscores the need for comprehensive intervention strategies. Recommendations include implementing emotional intelligence and mental health programs, fostering positive educational attitudes,establishingacademicstressmanagementsupport,developingstructuredpeermentoring programs, enhancing teacher training on behavioural factors, educating parents on supportive disciplinary approaches, and reviewing school disciplinary policies to be more responsive to underlying causes. Keywords: Indiscipline, peer influence, students' attit